Imagining Our Community’s Future

By Roger Doughty, Olga Talamante, and Adam Blum–

Horizons Foundation has a long history of providing funds for organizations in our community on the frontlines of today’s issues. A grant from Horizons sends a signal that our community believes in the work these organizations are doing and is stepping forward with support. A grant is about more than funding. It’s about more than resources. It’s about people’s lives.

The work that Horizons is doing today in supporting our organizations is as important as ever. But Horizons also has a dream for the future: that there will be opportunity for all of our community to live with joy. To live with pride. To live in community. To play a role in social justice. To play a role in funding. To build capacity for the organizations that we need in our community. To make it possible for us—all of us—to thrive, and to play a role in making this a better world.

That’s the future. That’s the future our community must dream of. That’s the future that depends on what we do today and how prepared we are for whatever challenges or crises come our way.

That’s one reason Horizons launched our historic Now and Forever Campaign. One of the most audacious goals ever sought by an organization serving our community, Horizons is well on its way to identifying a minimum of $100 million in committed legacy gifts to ensure our community stays strong regardless of future shifts in the political climate, setbacks our movement experiences, or new opportunities that may arise. We can secure the future now to make sure our community can respond effectively and swiftly when the resources are needed most.

Everyone in our community can guarantee this future today by following three simple steps:

1. Connect with organizations on the frontlines of the movement. Find out what they are doing and how their work impacts the community.

2. Build community across communities. We must have an intersectional lens, especially in this climate, because when one of us faces discrimination, it is shared by us all.

3. Donate your resources. Give. Contribute. Volunteer. This is the time to do it. This is the time when we need the resources to resist and to be able to go on and rebuild what is being dismantled every single day. And this is what we need to secure a bright future for our entire LGBTQ community.

Meeting Today’s Needs

Throughout 2018, Horizons has played an active role in the resistance, including the following:

Community Issues Grants

42 nonprofits that serve the LGBTQ community across the Bay Area received direct funding from Horizons in 2018 as part of the organization’s annual Community Issues Grants. Other Horizons initiatives supported dozens more.

Women’s March 2018

When Horizons learned that the organizers of the 2018 Women’s March in San Francisco had not secured the funding for a sound system that would serve the expected huge crowd, Horizons stepped up. Thanks to holders of Donor-Advised Funds at Horizons, the speakers at the historic resistance march came through loud and clear.

Candidate Forum 2018

The race to replace the late Mayor Ed Lee attracted candidates from across the political map. But what were their stances on the LGBTQ community and how did we, as a community, make sure our needs were heard and would remain in center focus of the candidates? Horizons, along with KQED, responded by producing a Candidate Forum for San Francisco mayor.

AIREA Fund

The Asylee, Immigrant, and Refugee Emergency Action Fund (AIREA) was created by Horizons to support organizations working to resist current policies that are separating families and summarily turning back people escaping violence and persecution in their home countries.

LGBTQ Financial Planning Day

Horizons believes that financial planning and fiscal responsibility should be available to anyone and so, in partnership with the LGBTQ Center, offered a free day of financial planning seminars, workshops and one-on-one meetings with professionals.